chuunin rank up mission (Cole, Kouse, Hikari, Sal)

As Hikari listened to Cole's suggestion, she wasn fascinated at what he was saying. It was a useful jutsu, one she wanted to remember to research in the library to learn. Intently she watched the proceedings before her. Cole ran at speeds of 70 to the kid, performing several hand signs to activate his Genjutsu. Within minutes he had found out what he needed to know from the ninja, that there were three chunin level and one Jounin level ninjas still out there, and pulled out a kunai to end the boys life. Luckily for him, Salzem was there to stop Cole and reason with him on why the life ould be spared. Hikari silently agreed with Salzem, the boy could pose no real harm to them or Mr. K so long as he was incapacitated.

As Hikari thought of the boys broken limbs, Salzem broke bark off a tree to use as splints for the boys now realigned arms, which he had nearly fainted from, and wrapped cloth around his arms as a makeshift cast. Then he performed an all too familiar jutsu, Chakra Anesthetic. The boy's widened as Salzem's blue flame covered fingers pushed into him, but any pain was momentarily as the jutsu instantly took affect in dulling the boys nerves. Hikari was ready to leave with the group, thinking the problem has been resolved, when Kouse, sounding quite enraged, spoke back to everything Salzem had said, trying to change what was happening. Yet as he neared the end of his ranting, he concluded with saying he would follow Salzem's orders whatever he decided to do. She figured Kiuse just wanted to voice his opinion, though she disagreed with some of what he said, she stayed quiet, hoping they would just quickly decide and leave, as they were just wasting time standing there and being easy targets. 

[WC: 3,953] [-1 ap]

Cole was about to put the kunai in the boys heart when sal stopped him. Telling him that the boy was still useful to them in the way that he could show them were they others are at. Cole thinking that this was a good point and another reason why sal was the leader on this mission. Put his kunai back into his holster. He would stand back up and watch as sal broke off a few tree limbs and put the boys arms back in place. He would then use a jutsu that numbed the pain cole hadn't seen that jutsu before, but he thought that it would be very useful to learn at some point.

It was at this point that when sal was using his jutsu that Kouse decided to speak up. Cole would listen to him, but he didn't really agree with him. He thought that the boy wasn't going to cause any more harm, and that they could still use him. However cole would wait to see what sal decided on weather not they just kill him or go on about their business. Cole knew that kouse was right about them having what they wanted, but at the same time why would they wait to get ambushed when they could be the ones doing the ambush and put an end to this mission. Cole knew that if they took out the enemy then their would be no one left to try and kill MR. K.

Cole was ready to get going he knew that they couldn't stay here much longer and had already been here to long as it stood. “Its your call sal, but we need to get moving the enemy could already be on their way here to see why these guys hadn't made it back by now” cole would tell sal. After he would wait to hear sals orders, and he planed on following sals lead. After all he was the one in charge here and cole never liked second guessing the leader of any group.

(TWC-3038)

Seeing Cole retreat from killing the boy was a welcome sight. Quite truthfully, Salzem had never been one to revel in the bloodshed of others, normally. Salzem went about his realigning the boy's arms, letting him rest for just a moment while listening to Kouse's rant. Salzem's expression went blank when he heard the passion in Kouse's voice. It was as if he was trying so very hard to rectify something with this child's blood. He had not yet turned around to face Kouse, still working away at the kid's bandages. Even though the child was half-awake do to all the suffering Kouse had put him through, he instantly snapped to attention when Kouse said he needed to be put to death. A fearful expression fell over his face and he no longer looked like someone set out to kill, but a young child facing down a dragon with nothing. Salzem turned slowly around, standing from the kneeling position beside the kid so that when Kouse stepped up to him, Salzem was staring him straight in the eyes. Once Kouse had finished his rant, Salzem said nothing for a couple of seconds and a heavy silence seemed to fall over the area. Kouse would turn around to look about for spies but Salzem would have his full attention. He would grab Kouse's shoulder and turn him around to face him. Then, with a quiet, but vicious tone, Salzem spoke.

"Kouse. Let me be perfectly clear." Salzem's expression may have been controlled, but the story his eyes told was something else. "This kid," Salzem pointed at the broken-armed child. "Is no longer your concern. The moment you captured him, you put him under my charge. MY charge. Do you think we should kill him? Fine. You want to chop his head off and paint the roads with his blood? Fine. But you will NOT contradict my decision. If you've forgotten your discipline in a matter of moments, you are not only a danger to your allies, but to our escort as well. The next time I make a decision, I expect it to be followed without question. I will NOT have anymore blood on anyone's hands than absolutely necessary. Do I make myself clear...?"

This would be the last he'd hear of this, no matter what Kouse would say afterwards. Salzem would then turn back to the kid and look at him with a gentler expression. The kid would look away, a mix of emotions evident on his face.

"Stand." Salzem would say, and the kid did so with slight difficulty as he couldn't use his arms to help him. Once the kid was on his feet Salzem would move him to the front of the group, then, considering Kouse's extremely violent reaction, he would need to make a rotation of positions.

"Kouse." Salzem would say the name forcefully and quickly. "You are to change places with Hikari. You are to take the rear." He didn't want Kouse any closer to the kid than absolutely necessary. Once Kouse and Hikari made their rotation, Salzem would motion for the crew to move out, giving the child a gentle push on the back to get him going. As soon as they put the battle ground behind them, Salzem tapped the kid on the shoulder. He looked back at Salzem, look no longer hate or resentment.  In fact... Salzem couldn't identify the expression.

"We are aware of your missing ninja allies. They have threatened our village, ambushed many of our trade caravans and comrades. We need to know where they are hold up."

The kid said nothing for a few moments, shoulders slumped. One minute passed. Then two. Then he spoke up.

"Why...?"

"We need to make sure it doesn't happen again." Salzem replied without blinking. The kid didn't respond, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. If Salzem didn't know better, he'd say the child was having and internal battle of some kind.

"Will you...." The kid gulped, halting his sentence. His face was pale, sweat forming on his forehead. "Will you kill them...?"  Salzem looked at the kid, intrigued by his question. He seemed to be very attached to his comrades...

"If they force us to, yes." Salzem whispered. The kid seemed to blink back something. Tears? Salzem almost felt bad making false hopes for the child. His orders were to kill them all. Taking one prisoner was acceptable, but 4? not a chance.

"Up the road about 50 meters... You'll come to a fork in the road. There will be a blockade up on the left road about 30 meters up..." Immediately after he said this, he whirled around to look at Salzem, his face had a pleading expression. "Please... Let me talk with them... two of them are my older brother and sister..."

Salzem said nothing, nor did he meet the kid's eyes, instead he looked back across the tree line or up the road, above the kid's head. The kid's expression turned hollow, almost as if something had sucked the life out of it. He turned around and continued walking forward, eyes downcast.

Kouse shrugged off salzems hand on his shoulder but listened with a straight look at salzem, he listened intently to all what salzem had said. 
"I haven't lost any of my discipline, and I remember saying whatever your decision in this matter was I'll follow them, I was merely forcefully stating my opinion on this matter, if I was not still following your orders I would have just tried on taking his life myself" kouse took one last look at the ninja on the floor "if you want to keep that ninja alive and treat him like a long lost brother I can only do one thing, and that is help you do exactly that, but that doesn't mean I agree to it or like it,and due to this reaction I would keep my objections to myself next time". 

Kouse shook his head as salzem told him to change places with hikari.. He knew it was to try to prevent him from having access to the ninja.. It angered him that salzem would think he would still attack the ninja after he had said he shouldn't. 
As kouse quickly moved to hikari's position he recalled the look that ninja had on his face, like one of someone who was in the process of changing for the better,kouse forcefully removed this thoughts from his mind. 
He quietly but intently listened to the discussion salzem had with the ninja and picked out the valuable information and stored them.. "Up the road about 50 meters... 'You'll come to a fork in the road. There will be a blockade up on the left road about 30 meters up'. 
The fact that they were his siblings didn't make a difference, if they tried to kill Mr. K they would be put down. 
Kouse would wait for salzems orders. And would start moving when it was giving.

It was quite suspenseful, Hikari thought, as Salzsm stayed quiet while staring at Kouse. He broke the silence by turning Kouse around and, with authority in his tone, spoke to him, saying that as leader he would make the decisions and Kouse was to follow them, even if he disagreed. Salzem adamantly spoke of not killing the kid, as he was no harm to them and the least they could do was save him instead of leave him for dead. She was thankful that Kouse did not try to argue any further and decided he would keep him opinions to himself next time, an idea she thought was excellent. Salzem could be scary when he wanted to be.

Once that was settled, Salzem told the kid to stand, he did with some difficulty, and pushed him to the front of the group. Then Salzem switched Hikari and Kouse's positions, deciding Kouse was too much of a risk to be even remotely close to the kid. Without a word she traded spots, not wanting to prolong their mission anymore. They headed out after the trade, and once they left the bloody battleground behind them, Salzem spoke with the child, finding out where the other four ninjas could be. Hikari couldn't help but feel pity and sadness for the kid and all he went through. The fact that he had siblings, that they would most likely have to kill, sent pain in her heart. Hikari knew, slightly, how it felt to have a sibling and worry for them, as she had recently learned that she had been seperated from a younger sister and brother for all her life. She understood the pain he felt.

The kid, as Salzem did not answer his request to talk some sense into them, turned his eyes downward, sorrow evident all over his face. Seeing his comrades die was one thing, but seeing his older siblings go would be unbearable. The kid would probably ask them to kill him, put him out of his misery. Hikari put her hand to her heart, her empathetic and caring side briefly taking hold of her. I wish we could help him, maybe even let the kid talk to them. But the mission said to kill them all..Can I do it? Right in front of the poor child? I can't bear the thought of seeing my siblings die, even though I just met them...


"Salzem...if we have to...we can't kill the siblings in front of the poor kid, he'd want to kill himself or try desperately to avenge them...His little heart wouldn't be able to handle the pain..." She spoke softly, her voice a little quieter than a whisper, for Salzem's ears only. She would not disrespect the mission or his orders, but she did want to save the boy from the nightmare of his siblings murder. It was the least they could do, especially if he became an orphan after their deaths. 

[WC: 4,445] [-1 ap]

Cole stood and watched as sal went off on Kouse, and strangely enough he couldn't help but think that Kouse was lucky they was on a mission. Cole had seen Sal get angry a few times and it never turned out good for who pissed him off, and he figured that it was the mission that was helping to keep himself under control. Cole would listen when the boy told them were they enemy was and figured that they would probably head their next. He didn't want to say anything though and risk pissing sal off at him to so cole just stood their. He watched as sal told both Kouse and Hikari to swap positions in the formation. Then give the kid a push after they was in formation again to lead the way.

Cole was keeping an eye on the tree line beside them on his side and the front were they heading trying to stay alert. When Hikari spoke up cole could barley hear her, and couldn't make out everything she was saying while trying to pay attention to their surroundings. He did hear her say something about not wanting to kill the kids brothers in front of him. This was something that cole himself didn't have a problem with and could go along with. However he didn't know of any way not to unless they left the kid tied up somewhere. The only problem with that was the kid was a genin and all genin even knew how to get out from being tied up. Cole didn't know how they would go about this, but he was on bored if that's what sal decided to do.

Cole would remain quit though and just listen to see what sal would say back to her.

(TWC-3335)

Salzem noted Kouse's retort to Salzem. He wouldn't forget this moment. Down the road a little ways and after he had his talk with the child, Hikari whispered something to him. A request to not kill the child's siblings in front of him. Salzem said nothing in response, but nodded, indicating that he had heard her. Salzem would say very little as they approached the fork in the road. He was still dealing with his anger over Kouse's outburst and murderous intent. He didn't exactly know why however. He was likely only acting in the best interest of the group with his opinion. This course of action should be commended, not obstructed. As per the kid's instruction, Salzem motioned for his group to take the left road, seeing the blockade the child had described. Overturned carts, flaming crates and barrels blocked their path. Two people seemed to step out from behind the cart. One boy, and one girl. The boy had dark, short hair, wearing a dark red leather jacket and black pants. He had blood red gloves and black sandals. He wore a firey, yet controlled expression. The girl had quite light long blonde hair tied back into a poney tail, seeming to bounce in the breeze. She wore a bright green t-shirt that seemed to be a size too big. She wore white shorts and pink sandals. She greeted Salzem and his group with a care-free smile. The brother seemed to be the set of the two as he immediately took charge. He immediately recognized the boy Salzem had in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise, then darkened when he saw his broken arms. The boy in Salzem's possession however, seemed to lighten up when he saw them.

"Brother! Sister!" He cried out to them, smiling. Salzem let them exchange words. He didn't really see why the should not. The older brother took a step closer and Salzem's muscles tensed, in case he tried anything. The brother smiled lightly at the younger boy while the sister followed close behind.

"Did these ninja do this to you?." He asked his sibling. The boy looked back at Kouse and nodded silently, all joy leaving his face. "And our comrades?" He asked.

"Dead..." He whispered. The older boy's eyes seemed to ignite as this news struck him.

"Then..." The older brother muttered. "We'll treat him in kind"



(Please forgive the quality. I was on mah phone.)

Kouse smiled to himself knowing that he was at the rear and no one would see him to do so, it seemed the boy had been of use after all. 
He had more time to think about the boys siblings and he imagined losing his sisters too, no matter what they did, if they got killed he would be distraught with grief,and killed at his front no less. 
Looking to the sky he saw a bird soar past, so free.. No rules or laws holding it back, no resentment to others, no nothing.
Unknowingly he found his hatred towards the boy quickly reduced. He couldn’t go on hating someone who didn't desire to cause havoc anymore. And his siblings, well that would be a shame if they had to kill them.
They arrived at the blockade the boy had described, with several carts and barrels blocking the way. 
He then noticed two people of opposite gender who were surely hiding by those crates and waiting.. He noticed one had short dark hair, the male with dark panels, red gloves and an expression kouse didn't understand.. and the other, the female was a blonde, with long hair tied in a ponytail, with white shorts and pink sandals. The smile she shot them only made kouse more alert.
Kouse didn't notice the eye exchange between the boy and his brother being at the rear. 
'Brother! Sister!' the boy shouted happily, kouse smirked what a family reunion, and watched as they were allowed to speak with each other,well that wouldn't hurt would it?. Kouse listened intently as not to miss what they said. 
'Did these ninja do this to you?' the elder brother asked the boy, then kouse noticed the boy turn and look directly at him nodding...oh oh kouse thought, he was so dead.. He met the elder brother's gaze without flinching, in fact he needed to try to speak some sense to him if salzem would allow it, he didn't want to see that boy without siblings just because of the mistake they were about to make. 
'and our comrades?' the elder brother asked.. And although kouse didn't hear the boy reply he knew what the answer was but at the elder brothers reply he would quickly speak up. 
"salzem I have something to say, if you permit me to do so of course". 
If salzem said he could do so he would look straight at the elder brother "you'll treat us in kind?.. Well let's just track back a bit, at least before we all launch into a fight let's get things understood, you sent a bunch of kids with such low skills to take down an individual you well knew was protected by a team of konoha ninjas, you knew that they had little to no chance of succeeding on that mission in which you sent them and that it was a complete impossibility for them to complete said mission without at least having any casualties but yet you sent your brother with them" kouse folded his arms turning his gaze to lock on the sister "now your brother against all odds is here in front of you, alive which frankly by your decisions you have made is more than you deserve, when I was about to kill him, I don't know something made me not to, whether it was just to question him or something else doesn't matter, and yes it was I who broke his arms thinking he still posed a threat of they were intact, a miscalculation on my part, he was supposed to get killed after we found out what we wanted to from him but he wasn't, my team leader made sure of that". Kouse kept his hands folded as his gaze moved back to the elder brother "so let's cut the crap, shall we? You were prepared to let those boys get killed to complete this mission, including your brother, but he is standing right here, let us simply pass on and you can have him unharmed or even if he isn't that won't stop you from being harmed, meaning either or both of you could be killed and you know what that would mean to your brother... So The question now is, is this mission worth the destruction of your family?" kouse would step back waiting and hoping he had managed to get through to the elder brother or at least the sister.

(741)

The walk to the barricade, the place the boy said was their base -or rather hideout-, was a silent one. Cole said nothing, keeping his eyes on the tree line and his opinions to himself. Salzem, after nodding that he had heard her request, was also rather quiet. Hikari hated the silence and the way her team fought, it was hard to imagine that one person could turn their amazing team upside down, even if unintentionally. Before she could think more of her teammates, they had arrived to the barricade, smoke bombarding their senses and tearing up their eyes. Carts, barrels, and crates were stacked in the middle of the road, the children's makeshift barricade. It was a simple one, but it got the job done she figured.

She was surprised to see the silhouettes of two people emerge from the road blockage. A boy, with piercing eyes, a cold demeanor, dark, short hair, and clothes that matched his image -leather and touch guy clothing in hues of red and black. The girl was a refreshing contrast to him, with her light blonde hair flowing carelessly in the wind, pink sandals, green hues all over her outfit, she was the kinder one of the two, obvious by her clothes and expression. The older brother, as he eyed them down, landed his gaze on the boy, it was evident they were siblings. Fury crossed his eyes at the sight of the boys broken arms. Unknowing to his situation, he got excited and left his glumy state at the sight of his family. It tore at her heart to see him that way, especially since they would be dead if they attacked.

The boy was oblivious to his brothers deathly glare as he shouted out to them, grinning widely. "Brother! Sister!" Hikari figured it would be no hard for them to talk, to spend a few moments together for what may be their last time together. The elder boy asked who broke the younger ones arms, to which he glanced back at Kouse, signaling that it was him. Kouse would definitely be a target for the siblings as revenge and payback. Then the older boy asked about their comrades, and getting the reply that they were dead, looked at them and said they would get the same thing. Death.

Kouse spoke to Salzem, telling him he had something he wanted to say. If Salzem allows him, she would listen intently to what Kouse said and his defenses to what had happened. If Salzem did not allow Kouse to speak, she would watch the siblings closely, waiting for their ambush. Hikari agreed with some things that Kouse spoke of, like the idea that thy sent children to do a mercilessly and predestined fight, one the would result in their deaths, even the boys. He spoke about how their fighting could be their family's downfall, an idea Hikari had been pondering the entire time they were there. Hikari glanced at the young boy, hoping he would be able to handle what he had heard and the things he would see.

[WC: 4,961] [-1 ap] (I'm so sorry this took so long! I hope it isn't too terrible of a post >_<)

Cole walked with the group keeping his eyes on the tree line still. Until they came to the fort in the road and then the part a ways past it. With a barricade running across it to stop people from going by to easy. They wasn't their long before to people a boy and a girl walked out from separate ends of the barricade. The boy had black hair and the girl had blond. The little boy walked over to what cole would figure was his brother. They would have a little convo that no one seamed to mind them having. Cole wasn't sure why they let them talk but he wasn't going to say anything.

When the older boy asked who hurt him. The younger one turned to give Kouse a glance that told them he was the one that did it. When the older boy said they would pay them in kind. Cole grabbed the hilt of his sword and held it. With his arm up and bent back to grab it he had his left hand grabbing the bottom of the sheath.

Cole would maintain his stance if Sal didn't let Kouse speak. If Sal did let Kouse speak cole would lower his arms back off of his sword, as Kouse's speech went on. Cole would listen to what Kouse had to say and thought that it was pretty moving. Even though they had to kill them it wasn't bad.

Cole would stand ready to start the fight if Sal gave the order.

(TWC- 3591)